A former Chief Justice of India reportedly intervened and stopped the Judges of the Supreme Court from writing the final judgment of the infamous Oinam case claimed advocate and president of the Bar Association of Nagaland, Timikha Koza during the release of the book “State Terrorism” by the Human Rights Law Network here at the State Library Conference Hall Saturday.
An Assam Rifles outpost located at Oinam village, under Senapati district of Manipur was overrun by the NSCN(I-M) where a huge quantity of arms and ammunition were taken away on July 9, 1989. In the aftermath of the attack, the Indian Army launched the infamous operation codenamed “Operation Blue Bird” in which the Army had unleashed a vengeance on the innocent civilian population of the neighbouring areas.
Koza alleged, during the operation, several innocent people were mercilessly tortured and killed, women raped, villages and granaries burnt down and people of all sex and ages were horded into concentration camps for days together. The army also obstructed civil administrations and human rights activists, leaders of students’ activist and NGOs from visiting the site where the atrocities took place. In the aftermath of the operation , International Human Rights groups too had intervened and made several discreet visits to the area.
A case was filed at the Supreme Court by the Human Rights groups and several hearings took place. Koza said the series of hearings by the Supreme Court had crossed more than 10,000 pages but that even after more than two decades, the final judgment was never given by the apex court.
On investigation, Koza alleged that the Chief Justice of India himself had personally intervened and stopped the judges from writing the final judgment. “The final judgment never came out because, the truth will be revealed” and the Indian Army and the country as a whole will be embarrassed, he added.
“Laws are made to protect the citizen but when the state uses these laws against the citizen, it is the most unfortunate,” he said. Koza also said he was a victim of state sponsored terrorism when he was tortured on mere suspicion by the Indian Army during his school days.
The recent incidents at Pfutsero and Shiroy clearly indicated that the state sponsored terrorism was returning back, he said.
He lso cited numerous instances of state sponsored terrorism committed in the state and called upon the people to rise up to stop such acts.
Earlier, Dr. N. Venuh, General Secretary NPMHR, while giving the concept note on the book “State Terrorism” alleged that the worst Human rights violation was taking place in India and described it as the “worst terrorist.” Terrorism could be in many forms- physical mental and psychological and charged the Indian justice system of failing to protect the rights of its citizen because Chief Justice of the Supreme Court was controlled by the state.
He said though India was a signatory to the 1948 UN Human Rights declaration, yet at home , it was the worst perpetrator of the Human Rights .
He said every Naga village and household had experienced state sponsored terrorism. Nagas had suffered enough- every household tortured, villages burnt down, some even upto 18 times he said.Dr Venuh alleged that after the current ceasefire came into being between the Naga underground groups and the Government of India, more army camps were set up in the state. “This is nothing but purely a psychological torture,” he alleged.